4. ágú. 2010

Impact! Coronal Mass Ejection Hits Earth : Discovery News

This is an aurora resulting from the Aug. 3 geomagnetic storm. Facing North from Silkeborg, Denmark, Jesper Grønne photographed this beautiful scene using a Canon 5D II camera. Credit: Jesper Grønne.

It's hard to imagine the magnetic battle that's ensuing above my head right now, especially during this hot and calm Southern Californian day. But over the last few hours, orbiting space weather observatories and ground-based magnetometers have detected the moment a coronal mass ejection (CME) -- fired from the sun on Sunday -- slammed into the Earth's magnetosphere.